Boca Raton — Consider the short life of the amphitheater at Mizner Park like a hit Broadway show.

In the beginning, it was all the rage. Audiences swelled. The stage bustled with activity. When people considered their weekend entertainment options, events at the Count de Hoernle Amphitheater were high on their lists.

But like a long-running hit show, the amphitheater has begun to slide. No longer new and exciting, it's now struggling as contributions have significantly declined. And its directors are turning to a generous benefactor, the city, to help revive it.

City officials are negotiating with Centre for the Arts at Mizner Park, the nonprofit group that owns the amphitheater, to take over the building and possibly work in partnership with the cultural-arts group to manage it.

On Tuesday, the City Council is to consider setting aside $600,000 for repairs and running the amphitheater.

"In the first five years when the economy was robust and we had the resources, we were able to keep this place vibrant and active," said Charles Siemon, chairman of the Centre for the Arts. "Now, it's awful."

The string of shows, music acts, community events and children's programming has dwindled. In nearly a year, there have been no significant events at the amphitheater, except for its signature event: Festival of the Arts Boca in March.

The amphitheater's physical presence has diminished. It needs a paint job. Chandeliers are missing from the east colonnade so that bare light bulbs are exposed. Lighting needs to be replaced. The stage needs work.

It's a long way from the amphitheater's vibrant beginnings.

The amphitheater was part of grand vision to create a cultural-arts district in the heart of downtown. Cultural and community leaders envisioned a cultural complex at the north end of Mizner Park, consisting of a new 40,000-square-foot Boca Raton Museum of Art, the amphitheater and a concert hall.

"The whole idea of going downtown was to build a civic center, multidisciplinary and self-supporting," said George Bogle, executive director of the art museum.

The art museum opened in 2001. The amphitheater followed in 2002, after the Centre for the Arts raised $6 million for construction. The concert hall never materialized.

But the amphitheater opened to much fanfare. It accommodated 5,000 patrons, twice as much as the older city amphitheater it replaced on the same site.

The old amphitheater was considered too small for the major events and musical acts cultural leaders wanted to bring to the city.

The new amphitheater had the sound, lighting, dressing rooms, architecture with a nod to Addison Mizner and box seats to attract both local and national performers.

During its heyday, the amphitheater hosted Kelly Clarkson, Norah Jones, Aretha Franklin, the Village People, The Strokes and other popular or formerly popular music acts. It hosted world-renowned orchestras and had children's programming.

The city, which provided the Centre for the Arts with a 99-year, $1 lease to build the amphitheater on city land, also put on community events there.

Something was happening at the amphitheater about every three days, Siemon said.

But in recent years, donations, which provided the bulk of the amphitheater's revenue, began to dry up. As the recession hit, big donors who typically gave $25,000 were now giving $5,000.

"During the first five years, we were able to raise the money to meet the costs," Siemon said. "The last few years have become increasingly difficult."

In 2007-2008 fiscal year, the Centre for the Arts had $2.7 million in revenue from donations, government contributions and proceeds from ticket sales and rental fees, according to its most recent tax return. But the organization had more than $3 million in expenses, mostly from putting on events and programs.

Donations weren't covering the cost of maintenance, about $500,000 a year, and the nonprofit group cut back on some improvements.

At the same time, the cultural-arts organization cut back on regular events such as the children's shows because of lack of funding.

Events also suffered as the group began a relationship with concert promoter Live Nation to bring musical acts to the amphitheater. The two groups got into a spat with the arts group complaining that the concert promoter was not providing enough shows as required by contract.

Live Nation raised issues about people sitting on blankets and lawn chairs on the plaza, beyond the amphitheater, and listening to the music for free.

The Centre for the Arts recently ended its contract with Live Nation, although the concert promoter still has the option to put on six shows at the amphitheater. It has Jethro Tull scheduled for June 4.

City officials grew restless as events declined at the popular venue. They saw the amphitheater as a great draw to bring people into the downtown.